Results 18,141-18,160 of 19,666 for speaker:Norma Foley

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is acutely aware of the disruption caused to students as a result of school closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and which led the decision not to run the state examinations this summer. In the context of the return to schools of students for the 2020/21 academic year my Department published a range of documentation and support material as part of the Roadmap for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: I can confirm that Officials from my Department have identified a number of potential site options in Wicklow Town for the permanent location for Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School and negotiation are ongoing with the landowners. Officials are working towards acquiring the most suitable site for this school while ensuring value for money for the exchequer is achieved. Officials from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 396 and 397 together. The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department is acutely aware of the disruption caused to students as a result of school closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and which led the decision not to run the state examinations this summer. In the context of the return to schools of students for the 2020/21 academic year my Department published a range of documentation and support material as part of the Roadmap for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2019/20 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: Under Article 44 of the Constitution and in accordance with Section 30 of the Education Act, 1998, parents have a right to have their children opt out of religious instruction classes if they so wish. It is expected that this right will be upheld by schools on foot of a parental request. Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools are required to have...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: I wish to advise the Deputy that the Roadmap for the Full Return to School incorporating all the detailed guidance documents and communication material is available on www.gov.ie/backtoschool. This includes specific guidance, in line with public health advice and developed by my Department on Practical Steps for the Deployment of Good Ventilation Practices in Schools. The guidance makes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 406 and 487 together. My Department has published a suite of helpful guidance for the safe and sustainable reopening of schools. Each school is required to have a COVID-19 Response Plan for the safe operation through the prevention, early detection and control of COVID-19 in line with public health advice. This guidance is focused on the practical steps...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: On 21 August, I announced a series of changes that would be made to assessment arrangements for both Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate examinations for 2021. This announcement was accompanied by a published document detailing these changes, Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021, and forms part of the Roadmap for the Full Return to School. These...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: An application for Assistive technology was received by the Special Education section on the 9th of September 2020 for this child. Correspondence approving assistive technology issued to the child's school on the 15th September 2020.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 414 and 415 together. Teachers are currently allocated to post primary schools at a ratio of 19:1 in the free education system and 23:1 to schools in the fee charging sector. Each 1 point adjustment to the pupil teacher ratio at post primary level is estimated to cost in the region of €55.5m per annum. At primary level, the annual staffing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: The decision to adopt a model of Calculated Grades by my Department was a direct result of COVID-19, which prevented the state from running the conventional Leaving Certificate Examinations. The purpose of this process is to allow as many students as possible to progress to employment, further education and training, or higher education in a way that is fair and equitable to all Leaving...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department received advice from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on the use of face coverings in educational settings on the 6th August 2020. It is a requirement for face coverings to be worn by teachers, staff in schools and students attending post primary school. However Public health advice also provides that cloth face coverings should not be worn by any of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: My Department’s circulars to all primary and post-primary schools have highlighted the potential health hazard of overweight schoolbags and outline a range of local measures that could be put in place to help alleviate the problem. The report of the Working Group on the Weight of School Bags, commissioned in 1997, recognised that many of the solutions to this issue belong at local...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (22 Sep 2020)

Norma Foley: School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the 2019/2020 school year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over...